Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran called on Sri Lanka’s government allow the memorialisation of Tamil war dead in the North-East.

Labelling the desecration of Liberation Tamil Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cemeteries the “most uncivil” act, Mr Sumanthiran called on the new government to allow Tamils to remember their war dead freely.

Speaking in Sri Lankan parliament he said,

“Those parents and others must remember their children and family during the month of November. They have done them for years and I plead with the government to commit to allowing them to remember their dead in the month of November. We are at a stage where we are not asking for the division of the country. Our people, those people, relatives of the fallen cadres, have voted for that kind of policy. We have said we don’t want to divide the country, we don’t want to take up arms again, but let us remember our children that died fighting for a cause.”

“If you are serious about reconciliation it is important for you to allow memorialisation.The government has agreed that memorialisation will be allowed. Many of the LTTE cemeteries have been desecrated. The most uncivil actions by the previous government. I’ve been to villages where cemeteries were flattened. And families of the dead have showed me where the cemeteries were desecrated and flattened by bulldozers.”

Tamil National alliance called for genuine consultation with representatives of the North-East on expenditure of the budget allocated for the regions post-war re-developement.

Speaking at the opening parliamentary debate Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran urged Sri Lanka’s government to refrain from using the allocated budget for the North-East redevelopment on roads and infrastructure, as such expenditure should come from the infrastructure budget.

Noting that the allocation for North-East development was not has high as desired Mr Sumanthiran questioned what the budget will actually be used for and welcomed the government's compromise of a donor conference for the North-East.

Stressing the need for genuine consultation with representatives of the North-East when deciding how to use the allocated budget, he said,

“If you use it for roads, most of it will be swallowed up. I urged the government to not take budget from this allocation for infrastructure. That should go for allocations made to the respective ministries. Though we would like a larger budget for North-East development, we appreciate that this comes with the promise of a donor conference for the North-East in 2016, particularly with the aim of recovery form the devastation of the war. We urge the government to hold the donor conference so we receive substantial amount of money for this important aspect. The North-East has been neglected for 6 years after the war. There were roads and bridges built which we welcomed. But that did not reach the people. My plea today is that yes you have made some allocation for the North-East development. Bearing in mind that that areas needs far more than the rest of the area. How that money is to be utilised is absolutely important. And how you consult with the people there and identify the needs of the area which are different to the other areas is absolutely essential. I hope the exercise of the consultation with the representatives of that area will be genuine and actually results in projects and methods that are implemented to raise the living standard of the people there.”

US President Barack Obama asks about progress on issues like the Prevention of Terrorism Act and landgrabs 'every day', Ambassador Samantha Power said earlier today.

"People around the world are watching Sri Lanka. We are talking about the process that you all are engaged in here. We are completely behind your efforts," Ms Power said at a meeting with youth from across the island.

"And this is true especially in the United States: President Obama is asking every day, 'How is it going in Sri Lanka, how are they doing? What’s going on with that prevention of terrorism act? What’s going on with that land reclamation? What’s going on on reconciliation?' People are asking these questions. They want to know what’s going on. How are the young people doing? How’s the job situation? What’s happening in Sri Lanka? People want to know, and we want to be by your side as you undertake what I know feels some days like monumental challenges."

Ms Power said consultation on the accountability mechanism was "extremely important" and said everyone was eager for a process which is seen as legitimate and credible by not only the communities affected, but also by the international community.

Sri Lanka's opposition leader R Sampanthan said the demand by the Northern Provincial Council earlier this month to change the official name of an island of the Jaffna peninsula back into Tamil from Sinhala was "a stupid proposal".

Mr Sampanthan, the leader of the Tamil National Alliance, said he saw no reason to make Nainathivu (Tamil) the official name, as opposed to the current name Nagadipa (Sinhala), The Island reported.

The TNA-run NPC had recently passed a resolution, demanding the name of the island off Jaffna to be changed back to Tamil, but Mr Sampanthan said,

"There’s no reason to change the name in this country where we all live; I am opposed to this proposal. We should be trying to unite people and not divide them. Nagadipa should remain just as the Nainativu kovil must remain. This is a stupid proposal."

Photograph: Tamil Guardian

The United States Ambassador to the United Nations stressed the importance of demilitarisation in the North, in a meeting with Sri Lanka’s Governor of Northern Province. H. M. G. S. Palihakkara today.

Ms Power tweeted that the two “agreed development, demilitarization in Jaffna cannot wait,” in a meeting during her visit to the North.

Met with Gov Palihakkara in North #SriLanka. Agreed development, demilitarization in Jaffna cannot wait. pic.twitter.com/vFEzFFcBmm — Samantha Power (@AmbassadorPower) November 22, 2015

Photograph: Uthayan

US Ambassador Samantha Power praised the resilience of Tamil journalists for playing a “critically important role as a check and balance of state power” and urged them to continue their work, during her trip to Jaffna today.

As part of her visit to the North, Ms Power toured the Uthayan office in Jaffna, before speaking to a group of journalists and media workers. Having heard about the repeated attacks the newspaper faced during and after the armed conflict, Ms Power said “I know that things in this area have been incredibly difficult for a very long time.”

“But imagine how much worse it would have been if it were not for this paper and the fact that soldiers and government officials had to think to themselves “maybe they’ll report on it”,” continued the ambassador. “We will never know what this area would have looked like without you all having the courage to come to work every day.”

@AmbassadorPower at @UthayanPrint @USAmbKeshap pic.twitter.com/O9VHEbOgbb — Uthayan Print (@UthayanPrint) November 22, 2015

Earlier in the day, Ms Power and the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Atul Keshap also met with members of the Jaffna Press Club, with Mr Keshap stating “a free press is the guardian of democracy and human rights”.

Photograph: @Uthayashalin

Visiting the office of the Uthayan, which still bears bullet holes left from repeated attacks, Ms Power urged media workers of the North to continue their work in publishing stories that critique the Sri Lankan government.

“Every one of you who has any role in putting this paper out day after day after day is playing a critically important role as a check and balance of state power,” she said. “And if there is to be more change in this country it will be because you keep holding government accountable.”

Photograph: US Embassy Colombo

The United States announced it will fund the restoration of ancient Tamil manuscripts in Jaffna on Sunday.

The announcement was made as part of US Ambassador Samantha Power’s visit to the North, where she told Jaffna Library staff “we plan to partner with you as you seek to complete the task of preserving what you have”.

After a welcome from a traditional Tamil inniyam band, the ambassador met with staff members, signed the library guestbook and viewed some of the 1000-year old palmyrah manuscripts that have survived to this day.

The library lost over 95,000 unique and irreplaceable Tamil palm leaves (ola), manuscripts, parchments, books, magazines and newspapers, after it was set ablaze by Sri Lankan state security forces and state sponsored mobs in 1981.

The ancient manuscripts give the next generation a “window to the past,” said the ambassador, adding she was “proud to announce [the] US grant”.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power in opened the new facility of the Osmania College in Jaffna that was built using the approximately $450,000 funding from the US.